A Concern for the Church

I am a Methodist.  I have never known anything else.  The first Sunday School class I attended as a child was in a Methodist Church.  I was baptized at one of its altars and met Jesus in one of its parsonages.  I could say that nearly every significant moment of my life has been in its shadow.  The fact that I am a born and raised ordained Methodist does not keep me from seeing things which raise concerns for its future.  One of the things which is a concern is a baptismal font that is hard to find and one that has no water of expectancy when it is found.  

No matter where we stand in Methodist circles, we are likely to hear that the church is about making disciples. I have no problem with such a focus.  It should be the core mission of any church.  To speak of making disciples would indicate that the Methodist church is an evangelistic church.  With this in mind it has seemed strange to me that apart from one Sunday I have not seen any baptisms in the last two years.  The only time baptismal waters have been stirred is when babies are baptized, or confirmation groups come forward around Easter which is good, but it would appear baptisms that are about professions of faith would be happening with greater frequency in a church that is committed to making disciples.  

I fear too many churches have become comfortable with the status quo.  Preaching seems to be geared more toward teaching discipleship rather than inviting people to become disciples through professing faith in Christ.  There are plenty of churches modeling being the hands and feet of Jesus through acts of service, but the concern for souls does not always appear to be as obvious.  Granted I am an old fashioned, traditional, and conservative Methodist preacher and my observations may not hold water for some, but it remains something which gives me concern for the future of a church that has a spiritual heritage of calling people to become disciples of Jesus Christ.  A church serious about making disciples cannot be content with treading water through biological growth.